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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28880757">Soaring Above a Sea of Sand</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/OctolingO/pseuds/OctolingO'>OctolingO</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Legend of Zelda &amp; Related Fandoms</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 08:54:20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,571</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28880757</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/OctolingO/pseuds/OctolingO</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Sky has been aching to fly for weeks.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Sky &amp; Wind (Linked Universe)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>77</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Soaring Above a Sea of Sand</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Sorry for not being very active lately!!! I’ve been sidetracked and such</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>With the golden sun beating down on their backs, all the Heroes of Courage—sans Wild—were beginning to feel its draining effects. Being dropped in the center of the Gerudo Mesa, in Twilight’s Hyrule, had not been one of their luckier Switches. Then again, it was better than being dropped in the Great Sea or overtop of Death Mountain (that had been a Switch they were lucky to have survived). </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Twilight was guiding them through the Mesa, though he was pointedly ignoring actually looking around to see where they were. Legend called him out on it and got a glare that made the pink-haired hero almost go pale. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sky was near the back of their group, just behind Wild and Hyrule, who were talking. It looked like Hyrule was just trying to distract Wild from his mentor’s obvious distress, which was awfully kind of him. As nice as Hyrule was being, Sky wasn’t really focusing on the fluffy-haired hero. He hadn’t gotten the chance to unfurl his wings in almost two months, since they hadn’t Switched to Skyloft. Thus, the wings had stayed hidden under his skin, pressing out against his back. He wanted to reveal them, to fling them outwards, but he couldn’t, even if he was fine with the fact that it would shred his tunic. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The wings were a closely kept secret. Sun and Groose, as well as Impa, were the only three still living people who knew about them—Ghirahim and Demise did as well, but Sky had dealt with both of them and was not overly concerned about their knowing. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was, however, concerned about the Heroes finding out. He didn’t think they’d actually try anything if they knew, but he wasn’t willing to take chances, especially not with the scars Ghirahim had given him that tore through the scarlet red feathers on his right wing. Besides, all of the others had secrets of their own; he was sure they did, so what was so wrong with him hiding secrets from them? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We should be stopping for camp soon.” Twilight called over his shoulder, smiling at the few sighs of reliefs or cries of “finally!” that arose from the group. Sky was one of the ones who gave a relieved sigh. He could typically get away with letting his wings out slightly at night, only about halfway, if he ended up on watch—an uncommon occurrence, but he could hope—and having the wings out even just a bit, it eased some of the cramps and tightness around his shoulder blades. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After about thirty minutes, they reached a cold stone plateau that was about two feet off the ground from the shifting sands below. Time had to pull Wind and Four up, much to their embarrassment. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, what are we cooking tonight?” Legend said with a teasing expression, clearly trying to lighten the mood. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Pumpkin and cheese soup.” Wild answered. He was already taking the materials out of his Sheikah Slate and setting them out to be cooked. Sky winced, and not just from pain. Pumpkin and cheese soup was Twilight’s favorite food; obviously Wild hoped it would help to comfort his mentor. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Twi, where do you think we’ll go tomorrow?” Four asked. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Lake Hylia is east of here.” Twilight said. “We can go there.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yay!” Wind exclaimed, grinning. He always got very excited when they got to go to a lake or an ocean. Warriors laughed and ruffled the sailor’s blonde hair. The Heroes sat in companionable silence as Wild cooked, with the cool breeze—the Mesa got much colder a night, as most deserts did—and Legend rummaging through his bag as the only sounds.</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright, done.” Wild said after a few minutes, putting his hands on his hips. He passed out bowls to everyone and made sure that Twilight got the first one. The soup was evidently good, as Sky could see Twilight’s shoulders relax as he ate. Sky tasted it as well, and it was delicious. It reminded him of the Lumpy Pumpkin. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll take first watch.” Warriors volunteered. Sky scrambled to claim the second, which earned him a few confused looks but nothing more, and Four got third. Once they were all done eating (Wild had to make an extra batch of soup as well, since Time and Twilight wanted seconds, which had delighted the scarred hero), a crescent moon was beginning to rise in the sky. Everyone began setting up their bedrolls, including Sky, though he didn’t actually think he’d be able to fall asleep, surprisingly. Laying down only made his wings ache more, crying to be let out. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Hang in there.</span>
  </em>
  <span> He thought. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Only a few hours left</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Warriors woke Sky up just in time for his watch, and Sky was surprised that he’d actually fallen asleep, though he probably shouldn’t have been. It was remarkably in-character for him. Sky stood, stretching, and waited until he was absolutely sure that Warriors was asleep before he started to release his wings. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They poked through the skin of his back, and Sky barely resisted laughing with relief. The wings finished, spreading out from his shoulder blades, almost his entire height in either direction. He hadn’t been planning to let them all the way out, but it felt like ages since he had last used his wings. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The colors, while slightly darkened due to the lack of light, were beautiful. The edges and tops of the wings were red, with yellow, lavender, and white feathers lining the bottom. They looked just like the wings of his beloved Loftwing. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>During the entirety of his watch, Sky was walking around and twirling and softly flapping his wings. He really did feel like laughing. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The next morning, Sky had hidden his wings (regrettably) and the Heroes were trekking through the Mesa, avoiding the nasty sand worm monsters that lurked in the sand. Twilight seemed like he’d gotten over a bit of his emotional turmoil; he was smiling more, at least. Wild was also smiling more, which brightened everyone’s mood. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And then the monsters showed up: Bokoblins and Lizalfos, both of which were from Sky’s Hyrule. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hylia just loves messing with us, doesn’t she?” Legend yelled, stabbing a Bokoblin. “Things are going well, and then this happens!” No one responded to him, since they were all busy fighting off enemies of their own. Warriors, Time, and Sky had each engaged one of the Lizalfos, which were infected: Warriors’ scarf had black blood on it, and the Captain looked furious about it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sky parried the Lizalfos’ tail swipe, slashing down and feeling the Master Sword cut into its tail. The Lizalfos shrieked at him and bared its needle teeth. Behind him, Wild grunted, and Sky looked over his shoulder to see him fighting a </span>
  <em>
    <span>fourth</span>
  </em>
  <span> Lizalfos. The boy was bleeding heavily from slices on his arms. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sky, watch out!” Time shouted, and Sky turned back and saw the Lizalfos charging at him with its talons ready to slice his heart out. </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  
  <span>His wings exploded from his back, coming in front of him and taking the Lizalfos’ attack. Sky grit his teeth against the tearing pain, and he could see a razor-sharp claw poking through the crimson feathers made more crimson by blood. Sky flung his wings outwards, shoving the Lizalfos back away from him. Time killed it with a slash of his massive sword. The other remaining enemies took one look at Sky, wings behind him with sword in hand, and they ran. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What the—Sky?” Warriors said, face shocked as he sheathed his sword. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You have wings?” Wind exclaimed. “That’s so cool!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How long have those been there?” Four asked. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Since I was eleven.” Sky said, face flushing. He hadn’t expected the Heroes to actually be okay with his secret. “Sorry for hiding it.” </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  
  <span>“Don’t worry about that.” Time assured him. “Keeping a secret isn’t a crime.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Can you carry me so I can fly?” Wind interjected. As much as he insisted that he wasn’t a child, he still had much of the childish wonder that the other heroes had lost. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I can’t fly right now, my wing is torn.” Sky said apologetically. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Would you let me heal it?” Hyrule asked, wringing his hands. Sky nodded, and Hyrule walked up to him, touching the bloody feathers. Sky flinched. “Sorry.” It only took moments for Hyrule’s glowing magic to heal the slashes, and then Sky grabbed onto Wind with both arms, lifting him off the ground. It took more effort than he had once supposed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t know if I can do this without dropping you, Sailor.” Sky said. Wind bit his lip, thinking, and then handed Sky a pair of golden bracelets. </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  
  <span>“Wear these!” He said. He explained further when Sky gave him a confused look. “They’re Power Bracelets, they’ll make you stronger!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Probably not as strong as our country boy, though.” Warriors said with a smirk. Twilight rolled his eyes, and Wild laughed. Sky put on the bracelets and picked up Wind again, realizing that it was indeed easier to carry him with the bracelets. In fact, it seemed almost effortless. Sky crouched, then flung himself off the ground and beat his wings as hard as he could. He and Wind flew so high that the Heroes were almost little specks in the Mesa’s sea of sand. Wind whooped in delight, letting the wind ruffle his hair, and this time Sky really did laugh. </span>
</p>
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